Anna let out a low laugh that riled me up and made me forget all about Matt’s fears about me. “You may want to cover that before I bring your daughter downstairs.”
I removed my arm from my eyes to gaze at her. “You may want to ride that before you go get her?” Anna smirked and I shrugged. “Just sayin’. Missed opportunity.” Shaking her head, Anna kissed my shoulder, then left me. “Your loss!” I yelled out. And mine. Damn hard-on.
Eventually, we had to get dressed for the gallery opening. It was a formal event, which was annoying. I mean, I didn’t mind wearing a suit every once in a while—I looked amazing in a tie—but performing while wearing this getup was going to be odd and uncomfortable. We were a rock band, not a fucking jazz quartet.
Anna fixed my tie with a soft smile on her lips. I’d chosen red, of course. Power color. My jacket and pants were red too. Why stop with just one piece of power? More was…well, more. “You look amazing,” she told me.
“I know,” I said, eyeing her deep turquoise wrap dress. There was an alluring tie in the front that undid the entire thing. I wanted to pull it. I mean, I really wanted to pull it. “You look pretty amazing too,” I told her, pride in my voice. My wife was so fucking hot.
“I know,” she replied with a playful smirk. Her lips were painted a rosy shade of pink. I thought the color wouldn’t look too bad on me if I sucked it off her. Yeah, that was happening before the night was through.
The doorbell rang and Anna looked past me to the hallway outside our bedroom. “Babysitter is here. I should go let her in.”
Nodding, I let her walk past me. After she was gone, I looked over my reflection in the full-length mirror. Damn. The red on red on red was totally working for me. Even my hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with a red elastic band. My wife was a very lucky woman; I was fucking hot. Adjusting my tie, I winked at myself, then gave myself a kiss in the air. Yeah, I still got it.
Grabbing a full flask off my dresser, because I was sure I was going to need the help to get through this, I stuffed it in my back pocket and headed after my wife. I felt strange leaving my daughter’s life in someone else’s hands. But we’d used this girl a few times before, and so far nothing serious had happened. It better stay that way. I liked Jennifer, but I’d haunt her for the rest of her natural fucking life if she so much as let a hair on Gibson’s head fall to harm.
Anna and Jennifer were talking in the entryway when I got there. Jennifer was holding Gibson, who was playing with her mess of curly hair. It wasn’t long before Gibson’s fingers were completely tangled in the ringlets. “So, we’re probably going to be late,” Anna was saying. “I’m not sure how long the opening is scheduled for, but it’s a big night for everyone, so we’ll probably celebrate afterwards.”
“No problem, Mrs. H. It’s cool, stay out as long as you need to.” Jennifer was seventeen, but sometimes she sounded thirteen. It freaked me out. I’d feel better if a sixty-year-old grandma who’d successfully raised a dozen kids was watching our girl, but Anna was fine with Jennifer’s age. She often told me, “Relax, Jennifer routinely babysits for a handful of local celebrities. She can handle watching just one child for a few hours.” I guess. But I’d still feel better if someone more mature was watching my baby girl.
Jennifer’s eyes swung over to me when she noticed my entrance. Her gaze was approving; she liked my outfit. She always looked at me that way though. No surprise there, most women did. “Oh, hey, Mr. H. How’s it hanging?”
Normally I’d say something witty like, “A little to the left,” but her words instantly reminded me how young she was. With a frown, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have our number? And the gallery’s number? And the rest of the band’s numbers?” You could never be too cautious about some things, and Gibson was one of those things.
With a patient smile, Jennifer nodded. “Yep. I have everyone’s digits.”
Digits? My lips compressed into a thin line, but I let it go. It would be fine, and Gibson loved her. “Okay, well, no company, no boys, no phone calls, no booze.” Suddenly feeling like I was just as lame as Matt, I shook my head. I needed to stop being so douchey. “You can totally raid the fridge though, and once Gibson is down for the count, feel free to use the pool.”
Jennifer’s smile brightened. “Will do!”
I wanted to lay down some more laws for her, or maybe add some more emergency numbers to her phone, but Anna wrapped her hands around my bicep. “We should go, babe.”
I knew she was right, but I still had to resist the urge to fire Jennifer and take Gibson with us. Wasn’t the woman supposed to be the one stressing over the sitter? I may have been in head-to-toe red, but I suddenly felt a lot less powerful. Luckily, I had a cure for that in my back pocket. Best get this goodbye over with so I could start drinking. “Yeah, okay. Bye, baby girl,” I said, giving Gibson a one-armed squeeze and a kiss.
“Bye, Daddy,” Gibson said in the sweetest, most adorable voice on earth. God, my kid was cute. Spinning on my heel, I stalked away, nearly dragging Anna with me. I will not tear up, I will not tear up. It’s fine to leave her with an underage stranger. Damn it. When did I become such a pussy? I might have to turn in my man card soon.
I felt better once I was in my Hummer, cruising across I-90 toward downtown Seattle. But then I remembered that I hadn’t reminded Jennifer about Gibson’s habit of putting everything in her mouth. We kept the floors pretty clean, and our fun stuff was locked up, but it was amazing what else that kid could find. “Shit,” I muttered, wondering where I could turn around on a bridge. “I forgot to tell Jennifer something. We need to go back.”
Anna gave me a funny look from the passenger’s seat, then dug through her purse and showed me her cell phone. “We can call her if we need to, but it’s fine. I already mentioned the mouth thing, ear thing, and the nose thing. Jennifer is well-prepared. God, that kid is obsessed with openings. The day she finds her woo-ha is the day I’ll need therapy.”
Normally, I would have laughed, but I just wasn’t in the mood at the moment. “Oh…okay, so long as she’s aware…I guess.”
Anna placed her hand on my knee. “She’ll be fine, Griff.” Laying her head against my shoulder she quietly said, “You know, if Kiera, Jenny, and the others saw more of this side of you, they might like you better.”
Surprise washed over me. I thought I was cool with those two. “Kiera and Jenny don’t like me?”
Retreating back to her side of the car, Anna laughed. “I said they’d like you better. At the moment, they think you’re…okay.”
That made me frown. I wasn’t an “okay” person. I was awesome wrapped in awesome smothered in more awesome. They should be squealing to their neighbors that they know me, not that they merely tolerate me, like Anna had implied.
Tossing a playful grin Anna’s way, I murmured, “No, what they need is to see the side of me that you see. The intimate side, if you know what I mean. Then they wouldn’t think I was just ‘okay.’ They’d be clamoring around my door every night, like stray cats trying to get a decent meal.” I winked at her. “I’ll keep myself to myself though, save everyone the grief.”
Rolling her eyes, Anna laughed. “How very noble of you.”
A wide smile broke over my face as I returned my attention to the sea of taillights in front of me. Noble was practically my middle name.
We arrived at the gallery about an hour late, which was right on time in my book. Matt was flustered when he spotted us outside, talking to the fans. Thanks to us and our awesome diehards, Jenny’s gallery was already on the map. It had probably been tagged about three million times tonight already. We were so cool.
“There you guys are. What took you so long?” Matt was dressed to the nines in a full-on tuxedo, and his short blond hair was gelled into rigid, unyielding little spikes. How appropriate. Clearly nervous, he seemed more tightly wound than usual; it looked like he was having muscle spasms he was moving around so much.
Since humor was the be
st cure for nerves that I knew of, and since fondling myself in front of him was too good of an opportunity to pass up, I cupped myself and said, “What do you think we were doing?”
The fans around me tittered, but Matt’s scowl deepened. “We’re on in thirty minutes. Try to not be late for that, okay?”
I saluted the fucker, but he was already turning to leave. The fans who had been trying to get his attention asked me, “What’s up with him?” Disappointment was clear in their voices. Douche hadn’t even said hello.
Shrugging, I told them, “Same thing that’s always up with him.” I mimed putting my finger where the sun didn’t shine, and a couple of the girls laughed. “That and he’s proposing to his girl tonight. His nerves are basically fucked.”
The crowd gasped and squealed. Anna elbowed me, then held her hands out. “You weren’t supposed to say anything.”
I pointed to the sign above the door loudly proclaiming BAGETTES! “I’m not supposed to say anything to Rachel. These guys don’t count.” I turned back to the crowd. “You guys won’t tell Matt’s girlfriend, right?”
More giggling and shrieking. I took that as a yes, and gave Anna a look of triumph. See, they don’t count. Amused, Anna patted my shoulder. “I’m going to go inside and find a seat. Come find me when you’re done.”
Watching her waddle away from me, I murmured, “You bet your sweet little ass I will.”
Jenny’s gallery was exactly what I was expecting it to be—a boring building with a bunch of bland, artistic, nonsensical crap hung on the walls and a few odd-shaped statues blocking the flow of traffic in the hallways. No nude art anywhere. I was instantly disappointed, and I kind of felt cheated as I looked over Jenny’s creations.
People were walking around looking all hoity-toity with fluted glasses of champagne, so I found a waiter and grabbed me a couple. It was my obligation to drink for Anna, since she wasn’t able to enjoy it. The burden of being a husband.
On the far side of the main room, I spotted my wife hanging out with Kiera, Jenny, and Rachel. I was just about to rush up and goose her sexy ass when Rachel turned and gave me a wicked glare. Jesus. Was she still mad at me for saying that Matt didn’t want to be tied down to just one girl? She needed to move on. Obviously, since he was still proposing to her, I’d been joking. Hopefully after this, the ice in her veins would melt.
Not wanting to get an earful about how much of an ass I was, I avoided the girls and looked around for where we were supposed to play. There were a surprising number of people here. Most I didn’t know, but a few familiar faces stood out. A couple of Pete’s waitresses were here, including Kate, the uppity one who never let me grab her ass. She was standing with Justin, the lead singer of Avoiding Redemption, one of the bands we were leaving on tour with tomorrow. Justin and Kate had been bumping uglies for a while now, but I didn’t think they were heading to the altar anytime soon. At least, they shouldn’t. They didn’t even live in the same city. How the heck was that supposed to work out? Exactly. It wouldn’t.
When Justin spotted me, I raised my glass in a toast to him. He nodded his head up in greeting, then turned his attention back to Kate. The other members of Justin’s band were drifting around the room. There were around six thousand of them, I swear. Okay, maybe not, but however many there really were, it was too many. Bands should be small and simple.
Other bands were here too. The three members of Holeshot, and most of the members of Poetic Bliss, the chick band that had replaced us at Pete’s Bar. The drummer, Meadow, was hanging out by a purple-and-pink painting with her girlfriend, Cheye…something. I don’t know. I couldn’t remember. All I knew about her was she used to dig Kiera. Maybe she still did? Yeah, wouldn’t surprise me if she was lusting over Kellan’s wife. Maybe they made out from time to time? Mmmm, that was a pleasant thought.
Realigning the stiffy growing in my pants, I turned around to find something else to focus on. Denny and his wife were standing right in front of me. Denny’s dark eyes were wide as he took in my outfit. “Interesting suit. Very…red,” he said. His voice had a light Australian accent to it that girls went crazy for. I practiced it as often as I could, so I had it down; I practically sounded like I was from there.
“Yeah? Thanks, mate. That means a ton coming from a bloke like you.” Nailed it. I should apply for dual citizenship, since I was nearly a native.
Denny frowned while his wife, Abby, laughed. “Please stop trying to sound like me,” he said. “It’s embarrassing.”
With a wink, I told him, “For you, maybe, but the sheilas go crazy for this crap. Practically tear my clothes off when they hear how awesome my voice is.”
Abby laughed a little harder while Denny cringed. “I can guarantee you they don’t think it’s awesome.”
“Please. You’re just upset that we were almost brothers, until you lost your woman to Light-Socket Hair over there.” I jerked my thumb over to where Kellan was standing with Hailey, who was his half sister, or some shit like that. Denny and Kiera used to date until Kiera dumped Denny for Kellan. I think that’s how it went. The details were fuzzy. If the drama didn’t have to do with me, I didn’t pay much attention. With a smile, I told Denny, “I’d be upset over missing out on being related to me too. I’m pretty amazing.”
“So I’ve heard,” Denny said, his jaw tight. Then he smiled and added, “Actually, that’s the one thing I’m thankful to Kellan for. I think I would wither and die in your shadow.” He let out a sad sigh. “I’m not man enough to be your brother. I’ll just have to settle for being your manager.”
His lips quirked like he was joking, but I thought he made an excellent point. I raised my glass to him as he started pulling Abby away; she was still laughing. “You make a valid argument, sir,” I said in my regular, non-accented voice. “Cheers.” I downed the rest of my champagne.
I was just wondering how much the D-Bags paid Denny and Abby to manage the band when I felt someone tugging on my arm; a little of the champagne in my second glass splashed onto the floor. “Watch it,” I said, snapping my head around.
Matt was standing there, beads of perspiration on his forehead. He seriously looked ill. “We’re on,” he choked out.
Feeling a little sorry for the pathetic specimen of a man in front of me, I handed him my drink. “Here, drink this.” Without hesitation, he gulped it down, then handed me back the empty glass. Wow, he really looked like shit. If he was this torn up, maybe he really shouldn’t go through with it. “Dude…you gonna hurl?”
Matt frowned. “I’ll be fine. I just want to get this over with.”
Nodding, I suddenly realized there was one positive thing that I could look forward to from this unnecessary spectacle. “So…where we going for the bachelor party? Vegas? New York? Bangkok?” I couldn’t even say that last one without sniggering. Bangkok…
Matt gave me the evil eye. “Let’s just get through tonight, okay?”
Shrugging, I followed him when he started weaving through the crowd. We had plenty of time to plan a killer party. And as family, it was my duty to make sure his bachelor party was unforgettable. The night wouldn’t end until I had thoroughly embarrassed his scrawny ass. I’d need llamas, licorice, and lasers. This was going to be fun.
When we got to the section of the gallery that was clearly set up as a stage, I frowned. “Ummm…far be it from me to tell you how to do your job, but aren’t we missing some stuff? Like…almost everything?” The instruments were there, but none of the speakers, amps, and microphones. Nothing electronic at all actually.
Matt put his hands on his hips. “We talked about this. A couple times. I swear you never listen to a word we say, which is yet another reason why…” He stopped talking, like he didn’t want to get into it here. I kind of wanted him to continue. Just where the fuck was he going with that? Matt let out an annoyed huff, and instead said, “We’re in an art gallery, so we can’t do a normal set. We’re going acoustic.”
I frowned as I looked over at my sad, qui
et acoustic bass. “Well, that’s lame. If we can’t play loud, what’s the point of playing at all? We can just play the freaking CD on low…then we’d have more time to drink.” I pulled out my flask and took a long gulp. It burned going down, then warmed me, head to foot. So good.
Matt looked about to curse me out—shocker—but a pair of arms wrapped around his chest. “Oh my gosh! I’m so excited! It’s going so well, don’t you think?”
Jenny pulled back to stare up at Matt. Her blue eyes were sparkling, her pearly whites were gleaming, her pale hair was glowing, and hope and goodwill for all mankind was radiating out of every pore. The word “perky” was too small an adjective for Jenny. Especially now…when she was a little tipsy. She loved everybody at the moment, probably even me.
While Matt tried to smile through his nerves, Evan unwrapped his fiancée from him. “Babe, remember what I said about tackling the guests? We want them to come back after tonight.” Evan’s grin was just as big as Jenny’s.
Jenny nodded, then shifted to squeeze Evan. “Right. Sorry, honey. I’m just so excited! This is a dream come true for me.” Her eyes glistened and she sniffed, like she was going to start crying. Oh God, please don’t. I hated it when women cried. Kiera patted Jenny’s shoulder, but I knew that wasn’t going to stop the tears. Jenny needed a distraction.
After Evan left her side to set up his drums, I walked over to her. “Hey, Jenny, if you really want to make your dreams come true tonight, we could go to the back room and I could…” Leaning down, I whispered in her ear everything I could do to her. I was very explicit.
She slugged me in the arm. “Griffin! Ewwwwww! No, no, and hell no! Ugh…I need to go rinse my ears out now. Maybe scrub my brain…”
Laughing, I shrugged as I started walking to my guitar. “Your loss.” Mission accomplished. She no longer looked like she was going to start bawling.
Once Matt, Evan, and I were settled behind our instruments, Kellan whistled to get everyone’s attention, and the crowd gathered around us. Jenny narrowed her eyes at me before turning to smile at Kellan. Rachel gave Matt an encouraging grin, since he still looked like he was about to throw up, and Kiera beamed up at Kellan like he was the most amazing male specimen to ever walk across the face of the planet. Whatever. Anna was standing beside Kiera. She gave Kellan a cursory glance, then shifted her eyes to me. Ha! Take that, Dreamy McDreamerson. My girl likes me better.